trustnet and morningstar

moneylover

I am looking to buy funds or investment trusts for the first time. I have read this forum for a long time and learnt a lot although invevitably some is still above my head.

Over the last few weeks I have accumulated a stack of recommendations about funds I would like to consider - gleaned from here, the FT and the Times, Citywire and the weekly Investors Chronicle.

So now I want to divide these up into their fund/trust sectors and compare them with others in the same tables. But have fallen at the first hurdle. Have clicked around on the above two websites and can see how to look at an individual fund but I can't find tables of funds to look at that are divided by sector of fund and then by their results over a period of time.

Once I have made an initial selection I then run them through some sort of x ray tool? Am a bit confused about that too.

Overall which is the best site to use - Morningstar or Trustnet? Or I could look at HL but would only get funds on there not investment trusts.

I don't tend to read HL research but are there other free sites I am missing that are reputable? Or magazines? I read IC in the library and they also have Money Observer. Are the articles on Trustnet and Morningstar useful?

Many thanks

Ark_Welder

I read the articles on Trustnet and tend to use it more than Morningstar - but that is just down to habit rather than preference. I find the articles useful as an aid to understanding what is going on in the world, but not as a fund-recommendation tool.

Have you seen the Fund Compare on Morningstar? Click on the 'OEIC / Unit Trusts' tag, then 'Fund Compare' link just below. It provides a limited compare of up to five funds, so I'm not sure if that will be sufficient for your needs, but it might help you along in the meantime. They also provide a Portfolio analysis, but I have not looked at that (you need to register with them).

If you do have a look at them and find them useful (or even if you do not) then it might be an idea to post your findings here as a guide for others.

Good luck with your research!